abstract: This study explores how early modern humans used stone tool technology to adapt to changing climates and coastlines in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. The MSA is associated with the earliest fossil evidence for modern humans and complex cultural behaviors during a time period of dramatic climate change. Human culture allows for the creation, use, and transmission of technological knowledge that can evolve with changing environmental conditions. Understanding the interactions between technology and the environment is essential to illuminating the role of culture during the origin of our species. This study is focused on understanding ancient tool use from the study of lithic edge damage patterns at archaeological assemblages in southern Africa by using image-based quantitative methods for analyzing stone tools. An extensive experimental program using replicated stone tools provides the comparative linkages between the archaeological artifacts and the tasks for which they were used. MSA foragers structured their tool use and discard behaviors on the landscape in several ways – by using and discarding hunting tools more frequently in the field rather than in caves/rockshelters, but similarly in coastal and interior contexts. This study provides evidence that during a significant microlithic technological shift seen in southern Africa at ~75,000 years ago, new technologies were developed alongside rather than replacing existing technologies. These results are compared with aspects of the European archaeological record at this time to identify features of early human technological behavior that may be unique to the evolutionary history of our species. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2016

Esta pesquisa apresenta alguns resultados do trabalho realizado com Arqueologia experimental sobre a tecnologia cerâmica Guarani, especificamente, com o acabamento de superfície da cerâmica corrugada, ungulada, espatulada, serrungulada e nodulada da área do Baixo Paranapanema Paulista. A experiência com os testes experimentais nos permitiu avaliar algumas das capacidades cognitivas que envolvem o trabalho do (a) ceramista, bem como demonstrar alguns aspectos da técnica de confecção da cerâmica relacionados com as escolhas dos indivíduos ceramistas que podem ter gerado a variabilidade cerâmica nos tipos de acabamento plástico de superfície externa. Além disso, comparamos o material arqueológico e a paisagem do Sítio Lagoa Seca com a de outros três sítios da Região do Baixo Paranapanema Paulista, para tentarmos contribuir com o entendimento do \"Sistema Regional de Ocupação Guarani\" da área do Projeto Paranapanema. / This study presents some results of work carried out on experimental archeology Guarani ceramic technology, specifically with the surface finish of ceramic corrugada, ungulada, spatulada, nodulada and serrungulada of Baixo Paranapanema Paulista. The experience with experimental tests allowed us to evaluate some of the cognitive abilities that involve the work of potter as well as demonstrate some aspects of the art of making pottery related to the choices of individuals potters who may have generated the variability in ceramic types finishing plastic of external surface. Furthermore, we compare the archaeological remains and landscape Site Lagoa Seca with the other three sites in the Baixo Paranapanema Paulista Region, to try to contribute to the understanding of the \"Sistema Regional de Ocupação Guarani\" of the Projeto Paranapanema.

This thesis concerns the relationship between research in experimental archaeology and the intangible of the past. Only a quarter of technological experiments in a sample of 100 studies addresses the intangible of technological practice, and this project sets out to explore if there are conceptual or practical obstacles for this low rate. The thesis begins with an in-depth examination of experimental archaeology and the criteria, paradigms and theories that determine its practice. Through this study, elements of the dichotomy positivism/postmodernism are uncovered and discussed. To resolve this dualism, a third paradigm – philosophical pragmatism – is introduced as an alternative. This conceptual debate represents Part I, and is subsequently collated into a methodological framework for the creation of a typified experiment. Part II consists of the experimental segment of this study, in search for practical obstacles for the exploration of the intangible. Through experimenting with Iron Age Bucket-shaped pots, Mesolithic faceted pebbles and Middle Palaeolithic birch bark tar production, different components of an experiment are highlighted for investigation. An element that comes forward as problematic is the relationship between experimental archaeologists and science ideals that is underscored by experimental tradition. Conclusively, the final discussion leaves the conceptual and practical barriers that may prevent archaeologists from studying the intangible aspects of technology overturned. In sum, this may enable experimental archaeologists to take a fuller view of their own practice and that of the people of the past.

Depuis une trentaine d’années, l’archéologie biomoléculaire s’est principalement attachée à étudier les substances organiques, notamment lipidiques, qui s’absorbent au sein des parois des récipients céramiques au cours de leur utilisation, grâce à des méthodes d’analyse séparative, structurale et isotopique. De façon à étudier les interactions entre la matrice céramique et les substances lipidiques, encore mal comprises, nous avons travaillé dans une perspective globale en prenant en considération l’ensemble du sous-système céramique, depuis l’acquisition des matières premières jusqu’à l’abandon du récipient. Nous avons étudié des tessons archéologiques issus de contextes variés, du point de vue chronologique, géographique et culturel (du Jura à la Sardaigne, entre le VIème et le Ier millénaire BC.), avec les méthodes classiques de l’archéologie biomoléculaire. Cette approche a été complétée avec diverses expérimentations et des méthodes d’analyse complémentaires, issues de la collaboration avec différents champs disciplinaires (étude des méthodes de façonnage, pétrographie des céramiques, sciences des matériaux, étude des sols, etc.). Grâce au formidable potentiel informatif des composés lipidiques et à la compréhension de leurs mécanismes d’absorption et de préservation, nous avons d’une part, identifié des chaînes opératoires de fabrication spécifiques (cuissons à basse température et/ou de courte durée, traitements des surfaces à chaud) et d’autre part, éclairé les modalités d’exploitation et de consommation des produits d’origine naturelle dans les céramiques par les populations pré- et protohistoriques de Méditerranée et du Jura. / For more than 30 years, biomolecular archaeology has been concerned with investigating organic products, mainly lipids, absorbed within archaeological pottery walls during their use thanks to separation, structural and isotopic techniques. To study interactions between the ceramic matrix and lipids, still poorly understood, this doctoral project have been built through a holistic approach that aims to consider the entire pottery subsystem, from the sourcing of raw materials to the disposal of the vessel. For this purpose, archaeological potsherds from various chronological, geographical and cultural contexts (from the Jura to Sardinia, between the VIth and the Ist millennium BC) have been investigated using classical methods of biomolecular archaeology. Additionally a wide range of experiments and complementary analyses were undertaken through collaborative projects involving diverse fields (study of manufacturing techniques, petrography, material science, soil study, etc.). By exploring the considerable informative potential of lipids and precisely understanding their absorption and preservation mechanisms, specific chaînes opératoires (low temperature and/or short firing, post-firing surface treatments) have been revealed and vessel use and resource exploitation by Pre- and Protohistoric society from the Mediterranean and the Jura regions have been explored.

La principale collection d’armes du site de La Tène (armes de poing, d’hast, de jet, boucliers) est étudiée sous l’angle de la tracéologie. Les armes du Laténium sont dans l’ensemble bien préservées du fait de l’anaérobie, parfois recouvertes d’une simple patine. L’approche de cette thèse de doctorat est basée sur un croisement disciplinaire entre l’analyse typo-chronologique, l’archéologie expérimentale, « l’ethno-archéologie » et les sciences forensiques. Est-ce possible, à compter de traces visibles sur les objets de La Tène, mais également sur d’autres sites laténiens, d’interpréter les traces de destructions sur les armes ? Ces dernières sont-elles plutôt imputables à des actes rituels volontaires ou faut-il y voir les résultats accidentels de combats ? Il ne s’agit pas ici de trancher définitivement l’épineuse question de la fonction du site de La Tène, mais d’apporter quelques pistes de réflexion sur l’interprétation de ce « gisement » énigmatique (sanctuaire, trophée militaire,…). / The weapons from the main collection from La Tène (impact and thrusting weapons, lances, projectiles/throwing spears, shields) have been analysed for use-wear. Due to the anaerobic conditions, the pieces at the Laténium are largely well preserved, with many bearing a simple patina. This PhD thesis combines chronotypology, experimental archaeology, «ethnoarchaeology» and forensics to answer the following question : is it possible by examining the traces visible on the objects from La Tène and other sites to as certain whether the weapons were put beyond use deliberately, as part of a ritual, or did it occur during combat ? The objective is not to deduce the function of the enigmatic site (sanctuary, monument to a military victory,…) but to find ways of interpreting it.

Bread is an important cultural and social marker, and it occurs in many contexts, often preserved as carbonised. However, as bread fragments are typically small and anonymous, their total value of them is not appreciated. Often bread material is grouped simply as organic and not considered. Material from Late Iron Age and the early Medieval times Gamla Uppsala, Valsgärde, and Gnista (Uppland County, Sweden) is analysed here. In this text, both settlement and ritual contexts were taken into consideration in the trends concerning bread production and/or consumption. This thesis aims to establish a protocol for distinguishing bread from other carbonised materials, including a macroscopic description that can be used in the field. Micro morphological and lipids analyses are relevant resources to study charred bread-like fragments recovered in archaeological contexts. Other laboratory methods, including FTIR, GC–MS, and GCIMS, were used alongside these methods. Experimental archaeology allowed for the build-up of a list of references to compare the material collected in the field. Developing a method to study these remains sheds light on the cultural value of bread, one of the most spread foodstuffs, and its connections with conviviality. / Bröd är en viktig kulturell och social markör, och det förekommer i många sammanhang ofta bevarat som förkolnat. Men eftersom brödfragmenten vanligtvis är små och anonyma, uppskattas inte deras fulla värde. Brödmaterial sorteras ofta endast som organiskt material och tas inte i vidare beaktning. Material mellan yngre järnålder och tidig medeltid från Gamla Uppsala, Valsgärde och Gnista (Upplands Län, Sverige) analyseras här. I denna text har både bosättnings- och rituella sammanhang beaktats för att undersöka trenderna kring brödproduktion och/eller konsumtion. Denna uppsats syftar till att identifiera bröd från annat förkolat material inklusive en makroskopisk beskrivning som kan användas i fält. Mikromorfologiska analyser och lipidanalyser är relevanta metoder för att studera förkolnade brödliknande fragment från arkeologiska sammanhang. Vid sidan av dessa metoder användes andra laboratoriemetoder, som inkluderade FTIR, GC–MS och GCIMS. Experimentell arkeologi gjorde det möjligt att bygga upp en lista med referenser för att jämföra det material som samlats in i fält. Dessa metoder används för att belysa det kulturella värdet av bröd, ett av de mest spridda livsmedlen och dess kopplingar till social gemenskap.

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Ce projet combine l’archéologie expérimentale, l’analyse morphométrique et la comparaison des résultats à l’assemblage archéologique de l’Abri Cellier (Dordogne, France) (N = 12) dans le but de quantifier l’apport du réaffûtage à la variabilité des formes et des dimensions des pointes de projectile aurignaciennes en bois de cervidé. La relecture morphofonctionnelle de la série expérimentale de Knecht (N = 79) couplée à une reproduction expérimentale récente (N = 9) démontre que la nature des dommages infligés au fût des pointes dépend (1) de la force du tir, (2) de la nature de la cible impactée et, (3) des propriétés biomécaniques du matériau employé. Pour sa part, le réaffûtage dépend (1) de l’expérience du réaffûteur et, (2) de la séquence technique employée. Ce comportement est standardisé et demeure indépendant du type de pointe de même que du type de dommage du fût. Les changements morphométriques associés à ce comportement se résument (1) à un déplacement progressif de l’épaule de la base vers le fût de la pointe, (2) à une tendance à l’accroissement de l’angle du fût et, (3) à une localisation des traces de réaffûtage sur le tiers distal de la partie distale de la pointe. Puisque l’utilisation et le réaffûtage sont deux processus impossible à départager sur les artefacts, nous proposons l’adoption d’une mesure, le ratio proximo-distal (RP/D) afin de traduire l’intensité de ces processus convergents et faciliter la comparaison entre les assemblages archéologiques. / This project combines experimental archaeology and morphometric analysis with a comparison with the archaeological assemblage from Abri Cellier (Dordogne, France) (N = 12) to quantify the contribution of resharpening to morphometric variability of Aurignacian projectile points made of antler. A morpho-functional re-analysis was performed on the experimental series produced by Knecht (N = 79), and combined with a recent experiment (N = 9) which showed that tip damage depends on (1) the projectile velocity, (2) the nature of the impacted target and, (3) the raw material’s biomechanical properties. On the other hand, resharpening depends on (1) the curator’s experience and, (2) the employed technical sequence. Also, resharpening is considered a standardized behaviour that remains independent of the point or tip damage type. Morphometric changes incurred by this behaviour can be summarized by (1) a gradual shift of the point’s shoulder from the base to the tip of the point, (2) a tendency of the tip to become more obtuse, and (3) a concentration of the curation stigmata at the distal third of the tip. Since use and resharpening are two processes that can’t be distinguished metrically on archaeological specimens, we propose a new metric the Proximo-Distal Ratio (RP/D), which translates the intensity of these two converging processes and allows inter-assemblage comparison.

L’essor et le développement des sociétés mayas anciennes dans un environnement forestier tropical, longtemps réputé hostile, ont soulevé de nombreuses questions, pour la plupart restées sans réponse par manque de données empiriques. Les modèles relatifs à l'exploitation des forêts, à l’impact anthropique sur le milieu et aux stratégies d’adaptation aux changements environnementaux au cours des trois millénaires d'occupation maya, bien que fondés sur des données palynologiques et sédimentologiques, n'ont que rarement été validés par des données archéologiques ou archéobotaniques. En particulier, il n’existe que très peu d'études sur l’économie des bois de feu dans les sociétés mayas préhispaniques, alors que le bois, en tant que ressource de base, constitue assurément un important marqueur écologique et économique dans l’étude des sociétés préindustrielles. Notre projet doctoral avait donc pour objectif principal de reconstituer, par le biais d'une étude anthracologique systématique et diachronique, les stratégies d'acquisition et les usages des bois de feu sur un site maya, afin d'analyser l'impact réciproque entre les activités humaines et les changements du couvert ligneux local sur toute la durée de son occupation. Cette recherche a été menée sur le site de Naachtun, cité de la période classique (250-950 apr. J.-C.) situé à l'extrême nord du Guatemala. Son développement sur huit siècles (≈150-950/1000 apr. J.-C.), les dynamiques de population non linéaires qu'on y observe, ainsi que sa résilience face à la crise du Classique terminal, faisaient tout l'intérêt de Naachtun pour étudier les interactions entre les anciens Mayas et les forêts sur le temps long. Ce travail a nécessité au préalable la compilation d'une collection anatomique de référence des bois des Basses Terres centrales, qui compte aujourd'hui 231 taxons appartenant à 52 familles, matériels physiques et numériques compris. Deux autres thématiques de recherche ont été développées dans ce projet. La première traite de l'impact des processus taphonomiques sur la préservation des charbons archéologiques dans les sites mayas, à travers une étude expérimentale de la combustion de cinq essences de la forêt maya. La seconde a porté sur l'usage du feu et des cendres dans les pratiques rituelles des anciens Mayas. Les dépôts de cendres et de charbons résultant d'actions rituelles y sont examinés selon une approche spatiale de façon à restituer les gestes humains responsables de leur formation. À travers ces trois axes de recherches interdépendants, on démontre l'apport de l'anthracologie dans l'étude des dynamiques socio-environnementales et des comportements humains dans les Basses Terres mayas. / The rise and development of ancient Maya societies in the tropical forests of the Maya Lowlands, a demanding environment, have raised important questions, most of which remain unanswered due to a lack of empirical data. Models describing Maya forest exploitation, landscapes impact and adaptation to environmental changes over three millennia of occupation mostly rely on palynological and sedimentological data. Archaeological or archaeobotanical data has conversely very rarely been used to test these models. Specifically, no attempt has been made to reconstruct systematically the global wood economy of ancient Maya cities. Wood was an indispensable resource for the Maya, as for all pre-industrial societies, and thus constitutes a key economic and ecological indicator for understanding socio-environmental interactions over time. This doctoral study therefore aims to conduct a systematic and diachronic anthracological study at a Maya site, in order to reconstruct domestic firewood collection strategies and analyze cross relations between human activities and woodland changes throughout the whole length of the occupation. This research has been carried out at the site of Naachtun, a Classic period city (AD 250-950) located in northern Petén, Guatemala. The development of the city over eight centuries≈ ( AD 150 -950/1000), with non-linear population dynamics, and its resilience during the Terminal Classic crisis, made the site of Naachtun a relevant candidate for the study of the interactions between the ancient Maya and the forest on a long-term scale. This required beforehand the compilation of a wood reference collection for the Central Maya Lowlands, which now comprises 231 taxa belonging to 52 families, physical and numerical materials included. Two other lines of research have been developed in this project. The first focuses on the impact of taphonomic processes on the preservation of archaeological charcoal at Maya sites, by means of an experimental study of the combustion of five tree species of the Maya forest. The second one deals with the use of fire and ashes in the ritual practices of the ancient Maya. Ash and charcoal deposits resulting from ritual actions are examined through a spatial approach in order to reconstitute the human gestures that are responsible for their formation. These three interdependent lines of research allow us to demonstrate the usefulness of anthracology in the study of the socio-environmental dynamics and human behaviors in the Maya Lowlands.